If you’re unfamiliar with Postmates, they are a delivery company that was founded in San Francisco in 2011 with a clear vision in mind: allowing customers to have anything delivered on-demand within minutes instead of days or even weeks.

While Postmates focuses on food delivery, it’s more than just a food delivery service. Postmates customers are able to download the app, and through it, shop for anything from restaurant takeout orders to groceries, or even the latest and greatest gadgets.

After the customer places their order, a Postmates delivery driver will receive the information, confirm the order, and then go and pick up the requested item(s). The driver then delivers the order to the customer and gets paid for their time.

It’s a great system that encourages people to shop locally and allows local businesses to offer their products in an incredibly convenient delivery format. It’s great for the drivers as well — it’s possible to earn up to $25 per hour, plus tips! It can end up being quite a profitable gig if you’re willing to put in the work.

Working for Postmates

Working as a driver for Postmates can be incredibly fun and extremely rewarding. For many people, it’s their first glimpse of what working for an innovative tech startup company is like. This is true whether you’re doing Postmates as a side hustle or even as a replacement for your full-time job.

You can be paid quite well for your time after factoring in the delivery fees you earn in addition to tips. As long as you are providing friendly and fast service, you can end up doing quite well indeed when it comes to earning tips.

Another huge benefit for many people who work as a driver for Postmates is the ability to create your own flexible schedule and have a better work/life balance. If you hate waking up to the sound of an alarm clock and having to drag yourself into work by 9:00 a.m., then joining the Postmates fleet could be perfect for you.

Picture this instead: As a Postmates courier, you receive a notification through your mobile phone for a customer order. They have ordered Thai food from a restaurant that is only five minutes away from you. You confirm the order, pick up their meal, and drop it off to the customer. The total time spent on this order is maybe 15 minutes or so and you earn money for the pickup and for the delivery of the order.

In addition, you are paid a variable amount (depending on your specific city) per mile traveled and wait time at the restaurant. On top of that, the customer tips you an additional $5. If you manage to do a few orders like this per hour, you can end up making a fairly decent income, made all the better once tips are factored in.

Working as a fleet driver isn’t the only job opportunity available with Postmates, but we’ll take a closer look at some of the other career options a bit later on in this article.

How to Become a Postmates Driver

If making $25 per hour plus tips and working your own hours sounds appealing to you, you’re probably wondering by now how you would go about getting started as a Postmates driver.

There are three main requirements needed of you in order to become a Postmates fleet member:

You must be 18 years of age or older

You must have a valid driver’s license and access to an insured vehicle, or access to a bicycle if you would prefer

You must be able to pass a background check performed by Postmates when you apply for the position

If you are able to meet the above Postmates driver requirements, and you own an iPhone or Android smartphone, then you’re ready to start the application process. Head on over to Postmates.com, scroll down to the bottom of the page, and click on “Join the Fleet.”

From here, you will be taken to an informational page that highlights a few of the great benefits of working as a Postmates driver. You will be required to enter your email address into the required field and choose a password to use in order to sign in.

After setting up your account, you will be asked to verify your identity. Make sure that you use your full legal name when filling out this information, as Postmates will use it to perform your new driver background checks.

You will also be asked to upload a selfie so Postmates merchants and customers can identify you. The photo should be taken from the shoulders up with a solid, clean background.

The company will also send you an unactivated Postmates prepaid card to use when picking up orders that customers have not yet paid for. You can activate this credit card through your online Postmates account. You’ll also have to add your banking information here in order to sign up for direct deposit.

Finally, you will be asked to enter your mobile number so that Postmates can text you a link to the private Postmates Fleet app (which is different from the Postmates app that customers use). You will need an iOS or Android device to use it.

After Postmates completes your background checks (criminal history and driving record), you will finally be approved. You’re now set up to begin making deliveries and earning some cash!

Where Can I Work as a Postmates Driver?

Postmates has driver jobs available in cities all across the United States. Here are just a few of the many places you can find Postmates job opportunities:

Los Angeles

New York City

Atlanta

Louisville

Seattle

San Antonio

Portland

Dallas

Kansas City

Milwaukee

To view a full list of cities where Postmates operates, head on over to the Postmates website.

Postmates Driver Support

You’ll never be alone as you begin your journey of being a Postmates fleet driver. Help is always available through the Postmates Fleet Support.

If you have any questions regarding your new job as a driver, you can simply head over to the Postmates Help Center. From here, click on “Fleet” and you will be brought directly to the Fleet Support page.

You will see five categories listed, all of them featuring the most frequently asked questions in regard to being a Postmates fleet driver. The categories are:

Become a Postmate

Account and earnings

The basics

Active deliveries

Vehicle solutions

If you still can’t find the answer for your question in any of those categories, you can navigate down to the bottom of the page where you will see an option to contact the support team.

From here, you will be able to submit a request for either “General Help” or you can report an accident or safety incident.

Postmates Driver Pay

Throughout this article, we’ve mentioned a few times how it’s possible to earn up to $25 per hour working as a Postmates driver. There’s a number of factors that go into determining how much you are able to earn while you work, including your miles traveled, time spent waiting to pick up orders, and how many orders you are able to complete per hour. That doesn’t even begin to take into consideration your potential earnings from tips.

Postmates Salary

If you’re going into this position hoping to earn a competitive salary or have a generous stock option plan, then you should temper your expectations. Postmates does not offer salaried driver positions of any kind.

Working as a fleet driver, you will be considered an independent contractor. You will be paid solely for the deliveries that you make, and any fees that you incur while making them (parking tickets and fees, moving violation tickets, ATM fees, etc.) are your responsibility.

So How Does Postmates Pay Drivers?

Postmates pays all of their drivers through direct deposit. When you are first creating your driver account, you will be asked to provide your banking information to sign up for direct deposit. All earnings, including tips, are typically transferred to your bank account within four to seven days after completing the delivery.

The amount that you are paid per order will vary based on the city that you are located in. Postmates provides detailed information and pay rates for all of the markets they currently operate in through the Fleet Support page. You can view this information by clicking here.

Postmates earnings per order are calculated using the following criteria:

An amount for each completed pickup

An amount for each completed drop off

A per minute rate for your time spent waiting at a pickup location

A per mile rate for the distance traveled between pickup and drop off locations

During peak business hours, there may also be a blitz (or surge) bonus shown when you accept a delivery offer

Keeping the above criteria in mind, let’s see how that works by using the city of Las Vegas for an example. You can see their market information by clicking here. Their pay formula is as follows:

$0.90 for each completed pickup

$0.90 for each completed drop off

$0.10 per minute spent waiting at the pickup location

$0.55 per mile spent traveling between pickup and drop off locations

There will always be a minimum base payout of $4 per route as well, excluding tips and bonuses.

Do Postmates Drivers Earn Tips?

One of the best ways to increase your earnings as a Postmates driver is by providing fast and friendly service every time in order to increase your potential tips. After you complete every delivery, the customer will receive a notification asking them to provide you with feedback and to leave an optional tip.

You will keep 100 percent of any tips that you receive. This can end up increasing your earnings by quite a substantial amount, making it vital to always strive to offer the best customer experience that you can.

Other Methods to Increase Your Earnings

If you’re interested in increasing your earnings with Postmates even further, there are a few things that you can take to help out significantly. Here’s a list of some ideas to help you earn even more money:

Stack your deliveries by accepting more than one at a time — however, Postmates enforces the requirement that you must complete the deliveries in the order they are accepted, so keep that in mind

You can opt in to an “Auto-Accept” feature through your Fleet app, allowing new deliveries to be added to your route automatically — this can help maximize your profits

Work during peak times (every day from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.) and keep your eye out for Blitz pricing opportunities. If Blitz pricing is in place, then the delivery fee is multiplied, vastly increasing your earning potential

Check your map in the Fleet app for the dark red locations — these are known as “Hot Spots” (the darker the red spot, the busier the area) where you will have a much higher chance of receiving a delivery offer

Postmates also offers a variety of perks and incentives for drivers who perform their job well and provide excellent customer service.

Drivers who complete over 25 deliveries in a month are given a free Postmates Unlimited subscription. Complete 10 or more deliveries in a given week and you will be eligible for PerkSpot the following week, granting access to benefits from both local and national shops.

The company also offers other types of bonuses and incentives, which they will notify their drivers of through email, SMS, or the Fleet app.

Reviews for Postmates Drivers

As we mentioned previously, after you complete each delivery, customers will be notified through their app to leave a review for you. Maintaining a solid Postmates review score is vital if you want to be successful as a Postmate, since the company does not tolerate bad customer service.

If your overall driver score falls too low, you risk having your account suspended. You can consult the market information page through Fleet Support to see the minimum required feedback score for your specific city.

By striving to offer a 5-star experience with every delivery, you can maximize your potential earnings from tips by making your customers happy.

Here are a few tips on how you can keep your rating as high as possible:

Be polite and courteous when dealing with customers — a friendly “Hi, I’m your Postmate” and a sincere “Thank you” can go a long way towards earning a tip

Call or text the customer to inform them if any issues come up (if an item is unavailable and a substitution is needed, order delays, etc.)

Keep presentation in mind when dealing with customers — leave items in the hot/cold bag as needed until they’re ready for customers

Triple check the shopping list every time in order to ensure order accuracy

By keeping the above points in mind, you can easily provide an outstanding customer experience every time and ensure that your feedback remains high, increasing the likelihood of receiving tips for your efforts.

Postmates Driver Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Does Postmates Pay Hourly?

No, Postmates does not pay an hourly rate or minimum wage. Drivers are instead compensated according to a specific formula, which varies by city.

You can consult the Postmates Market Information page for the most up-to-date information on the formula to determine payment for your city.

Does Postmates Pay for Gas?

No, Postmates does not pay for your gas. When working as a Postmate, you are considered an independent contractor, meaning you will be responsible for any of your own expenses incurred.

However, part of the Postmates payment formula does factor in the number of miles you have traveled for your deliveries.

How Does Postmates Pay?

As noted above, Postmates will pay you according to a specific formula that varies per city. The formula takes into account the following:

An amount for each completed pickup

An amount for each completed drop off

A per minute rate for your time spent waiting at a pick up location

A per mile rate for the distance traveled between pickup and drop off locations

During peak business hours, there may also be a Blitz (or surge) bonus shown when you accept a delivery offer

You will be paid through direct deposit, and payment is usually issued 4–7 days after a delivery is completed.

What About Taxes?

Since you are considered an independent contractor, Postmates will not withhold any taxes from your pay. It is your responsibility to handle your own taxes and report your income to the IRS.

Postmates Careers

Working as a Postmate fleet driver isn’t the only job opportunity available with Postmates.

The company has job openings in the following departments:

Engineering and product

Operations

Business strategy

Business development

Administration

You can check out the Postmates Career page to get job information for all the current openings.

Start Your Postmates Job Today

Hopefully, this article has provided you with all of the information you were looking for if you’re considering becoming a driver for Postmates.

By always aiming to provide a 5-star experience, being willing to work during peak business hours, and keeping your eye out for “Hot Spots” in your city, you’ll have the potential to make a very lucrative income working as a Postmate.

So, what are you waiting for? Head over to Postmates.com and get started today!

Looking for some other ways to earn extra income? Check out our guides to delivering for DoorDash, Uber Eats, Grubhub, and Caviar. If you’re curious about how to make money transporting passengers, have a look at our guides to driving for Uber and Lyft.

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